It is believed that Sake brewing began in the 3rd century B.C., when a method of rice planting was introduced to Japan. The Japanese Liquor Law defines Sake as, "made from rice, rice koji and water using fermentation and filtration processes". Premium sake is split into a number of different categories based on ingredients, which brewing process is used, and other characteristics. However, simply because a sake falls into a certain category doesn't mean that it will necessarily taste like other sakes in that category. The most important factor is the skill of the brewer, which is unique to the brand and brewery.

Rice PolishingIt is ideal to use only the inner core of the rice grains, which allows for the creation of a purer sake. Polishing down the grain increases the amount of raw rice needed for production, and requires extra time and energy. Because of this, a low polishing ratio (how much of the rice is left after grinding off the outside part) often indicates a quality sake.

The differentiation between the sakes made with rice and koji is the amount of milling the rice has undergone before brewing. They include three groups: Junmai (polished to at least 70% of the original size of the grains), Junmai-Ginjo (polished to at least 60%), and Junmai-Daiginjo (polished to at least 50%).

Sakes present a whole range of flavors and fragrances, but the predominant flavor profile of super premium sake can be expressed in terms of sweetness and dryness. Junmai-Sake, Junmai-Ginjo, and Junmai-Daiginjo are often drier, while harmonizing the natural sweetness of the fermented sugars and acids.

Mon. January 25, 2016 9:59 AM - by: LaMonte Heflick
Christine Anderson. This is most likely a very late entry; however, I think a great name for a little is
蝶 cho (with a long o). It means butterfly. You could call your pup"chocho."Mon. October 12, 2015 6:31 AM - by: josephdiscala
We like lite and dry sake, while we had many we find it hard to find the same sake we drink in a restaurant at a liquor store, can you give suggest some moderately priced simple lite and dry sakeTue. June 2, 2015 7:04 PM - by: Christine anderson
I am looking for a name for my Japanese chin
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Am looking for a name for my Japanese chin show dog.the name of a Japanese sake/wine. Any ideas? I will use the name to advertise my dogs show wins.Wed. October 29, 2014 12:28 PM - by: James
One can see if sakes made the gold standard for premium sake. Just check out the list of 350+ sake at http://www.joyofsake.com/appraisal/. Wed. October 29, 2014 12:24 PM - by: James Gee
Ginjo top list without Dewazakura hard to believe. Dewazakura makes the best Ginjo sake period from any brewery.Sun. June 15, 2014 10:16 AM - by: Steven
@David,
http://www.sakehub.com is a great website. Thanks for addingFri. May 4, 2012 2:35 PM - by: David
I found great source website : sakehub.com - it is pretty good manual for buying sake including taste, price, alcohol content, apiring, glass should we use and etc..Fri. December 2, 2011 8:16 PM - by: blackfin
Hello Rita,
I know relatively little of sake, but have tried Tozai Ginjo Nigori with fresh pan seared yellowfin tuna. It's not bad, but I would like to move away from the citrus note into some thing a little more neutral, maybe even sweeter, because we typically season the tuna with chile and lime. The tuna is FRESH, as in we actually catch the tuna in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thank you for your response.Wed. October 6, 2010 1:13 AM - by: Rita
Greeting,
I'm Rita and my position is sales Marketing Manager for Beverages, my Company name is PPC Global Trading Company,our location is in Dili, Timor Leste near of Australia and Indonesia,did you can Supply the Sake Wine to us here because allot of Customer asking about Japanese Wine,
Regards,
Rita.

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